Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez

Author:Heather Chavez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2023-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Julia

Mike sat next to Julia at her kitchen table, their chairs pushed close enough that they could both read the screen of her laptop. Mike took the last bite of his scone before wiping his fingers with a napkin. Julia had dropped off the box of pastries at Evie’s apartment on the way back to her house, but she’d saved Mike a couple of the cranberry-orange scones. His favorite.

Despite the infusion of sugary carbs, Mike wore a pained expression as Julia carefully typed in the URL he had given her.

“You’re the smartest person I know,” he said.

Julia continued to tap the keyboard. “Don’t let anyone in the physics department hear you say that.”

“Damn funny too.”

“I’m working on a set.” She pointed to the scrap of paper where he’d scribbled the Web address, a random series of numbers and letters. “Is that an O or a zero?”

“Zero.”

She typed in the digit and then glanced sideways at him. “Go on.” She waved her hand. “I believe you were complimenting me, and you hadn’t yet made it to my ability to quote classic sitcoms.”

“That’s covered by the part about you being smart. You’re also thoughtful and tenacious.”

She squinted at the paper and then typed in a few more digits. “You mean stubborn.”

“Maybe.” His pained expression deepened. “But Julia—you can’t type worth shit.”

Unfazed, Julia held the scrap of paper next to the URL she’d typed. They matched. “You told me to be careful.”

“Careful. Not glacial.”

Julia hit enter, bringing up a black screen with strings of white and red lettering. “We’re in. I think?”

His forehead wrinkled as he leaned in to study the screen. “Appears that way,” he said cautiously.

She turned to him. “I thought you knew this stuff.”

“I’m a former journalist. I know enough to write a story, but not enough to sell cryptocurrency.” He paused. “But it looks right.”

“Better be, or we might get voxxed.”

“Doxxed.”

She grinned. “Just messing with you.” Her grin faded as she read the rows of text. “So, where do we find people talking about the Anderson Hughes shooting?”

He gestured to the laptop. “Do you mind?”

She held up her palms. “Go for it.”

He scooted the laptop closer to him and started scrolling. Julia leaned in, and in the same instant, Mike did too. Their faces hovered inches apart, two pairs of eyes fixed on the screen, and she felt the sudden warmth of him. Julia held the position for a moment before leaning back again.

On the screen, threads on gardening, books, and video games shared space with ones on masturbation, insurance fraud, and recreational drugs. There was also a discussion slugged “Animal friends.” Julia hoped it was a forum for pet photos.

Another thread caught her eye, and she pointed to the screen. “Melissophilia?”

“A fetish thread.”

“People have fetishes involving women named Melissa?”

“Probably. But melissophilia is the term for those who get aroused by stinging insects.”

Her nose scrunched. “That’s a thing?”

“And that’s not the worst of it.” Mike stopped scrolling. “Found it.”

The Anderson Hughes thread began with a discussion about guns.

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